The Australian Government's Innovation Report

Biotechnology 2020 forums
A series of innovative community engagement forums are being
held around Australia to engage the community on issues relating
to the impact of biotechnologies in the year 2020.
The forums provide an opportunity for an expert panel of
scientists, ethicists and other specialists to address both the risks
and the benefits of biotechnology in the future. They also allow
two-way communication between specialists and community
groups on a wide range of issues, including environment, invasive
animals, genetically modified crops and foods and biotechnology
in human health.
Audience participation in the forums include using digital voting
technologies, where each member of the audience has a handheld
console to respond to questions put to them by the panel
with the total audience vote displayed instantly on a screen.
Biotechnology Australia staff member, John Kelly, welcoming people to the
Information Booth after the Biotechnology 2020 public forum in Mount
Gambier, South Australia. Photo credits: Craig Cormick, DITR.
Protecting intellectual property
Intellectual Property
IP Australia, the Australian Government agency responsible for administering the Australian intellectual property
rights system for patents, trade marks, designs and plant breeder’s rights, provides ongoing funding and support
for Backing Australia’s Ability intellectual property (IP) initiatives.
IP Australia is recognised internationally as a leader in IP public education and awareness programmes. It works
closely with stakeholders to develop a range of effective awareness and educational products including targeted
seminars for small business and the tertiary sectors, a variety of online instructional services such as InnovatED and
IP Professor, guides for business such as Smart Start and the IP Toolbox and a range of informative publications.
The response to the recommendations of the Intellectual Property and Competition Review Committee’s report,
Review of Intellectual Property Legislation under the Competition Principles Agreement, and the Advisory Council on
Intellectual Property’s Review of Enforcement of Industrial Property Rights, formed part of the Backing Australia’s Ability
IP protection initiatives.
Several key patent recommendations from these reports were implemented by the Patents Amendment Act 2001. Most
of the remaining elements are included in the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2006, which received the
Royal Assent on 27 September 2006. These include:
• providing for exemplary damages to be awarded in cases of blatant or wilful infringement of a patent;
• clarifying the operation of section 119 of the Patents Act and extending the scope of this section to encompass
all acts which would constitute an infringement of the relevant patent; and
• providing a competition test as an additional ground on which a compulsory licence to use a patent may
be granted.
Recent awareness and education initiatives undertaken by IP Australia include:
• celebrations around World IP Day on 26 April including a partnership with the Australian Innovation
Festival to raise awareness of intellectual property. Key activities included:
o a World IP Day theme for the ABC’s television show the New Inventors followed by an online forum
about how and when innovators should protect their ideas;
o a series of events on IP education held in conjunction with other government departments and
organisations across Australia as part of the Australian Innovation Festival;
Chapter 2 - Initiatives for a dynamic national innovation system 79